Gene Simmons on Billion-Dollar COVID-19 Losses: ‘So What?’

Gene Simmons dismissed the billions of dollars lost to the music industry as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, arguing that more important things were at stake.

The Kiss star also said he wanted to hear less complaining from people who were living in lockdown, and outlined when his band would return to complete their farewell tour.

“I wash my hands so [often] – I’ve never been so clean in my life. I’m usually a slob,” Simmons told Good Day L.A. in a recent interview (below). He described the global alert as a “crazy time” and added: “I’m so grateful to everybody out there who risks their lives for you guys and me.”

Asked how the virus was affecting music, he replied: “We can talk about the big numbers and that means billions of dollars that are lost. The rich and the famous and the good-looking folks who wear silly outfits like this and have silly hair like this… billions of dollars just flushed down the drain. So what? You’re talking about single mothers and families who live from check to check. The people who actually put on these concerts – the security people, the road crews, all that stuff – this is survival. The folks in and around the infrastructure are the people who are suffering the most.”

Gene Simmons interview

He said Kiss were “doing our part” and “writing checks” for “important stuff,” continuing: “I just sent a nice big check to the children’s hospital here in L.A. because you not only have children suffering from this horrible thing, there are children who are also fighting cancer.” That led him to insist: “We have nothing to complain about. Stop complaining – I keep saying that all the time… There are some miserable things going on out there; people are losing their lives. … We’re in this together – the only way is the lonely way.”

Simmons confirmed that Kiss planned to fulfil their tour commitments, saying: “We’re gonna go back once it’s safe, once there’s a cure. We would never put our fans in danger, or ourselves.”